SNP concession over police numbers

The Scottish Government today lodged amendments to the 2008/09 Budget Bill.

These amendments will deliver:

- #10m to begin the process of recruiting 500 Police officers in addition to the 500 new recruits already announced by the Scottish Government and the substantial number of officers to be retained or redeployed
- #4.3m extra for the Climate Challenge Fund
The extra funding for Police recruitment is part of an additional package of funding of #40 million over the next three years that will allow the recruitment of 1,000 additional police officers by March 2011.

Great news, the Tories have been lobbying the Government for months on this and ever proposed serious motions at the Finance Committee unlike, as documented here, both members of the Lib Lab pact.

More Lib Dem fun

This press release on the Scottish Lib Dems website is quite amusing. In said release it appears that Liam McArthur is criticising SNP MSP Alex Neil for supporting the SNP Government.... I realise this could be something said in the verbiage of a radio discussion or a debate but was it really necessary to go to the lengths of doing a press release on it and then taking the trouble to put it up on a website?

What are the SNP going to do about the mess we created?

The above is effectively the question asked by Nicol Stephen this morning at First Ministers Question time. Although initially viewed in some quarters, such as on Kezia Dugdale’s blog, as landing a punch on the First Minister the whole affair is starting to unravel in front of Nicol Stephen leaving him with egg on his face.

See, Mr Stephen held up a letter in FMQs from a patient having been removed from a liposuction waiting list and claiming this was done to change the number on waiting lists. Rather crucially the date on the letter was removed – Why remove the date you ask? Especially as the date is December the 21st, surely that date has no relevance. Well, you’d be wrong as that date is ten days prior to the SNPs removal of hiding waiting lists thus meaning that the person when removed from the waiting list was in fact put on a Labour and Lib Dem hidden waiting list. Oops.

Alistair Campbell selected for the Tories

http://www.scottishconservatives.com/people/candidates/candidate.aspx?fld_user_id=1136

Herald story comments

Just been having a look at this story and I'm appalled by many of the comments on it.

It's the usual petty comments that I've come to expect from Labour stooges. Harking on about the doom and gloom associated with a Nat Government, you'd think they have learned from May, and trotting out the old "Tartan Tories" line again and again - pretty petty and juvenile stuff.

The stooges, no not Iggy Pop's band but the Labour ones, are coming out with the usual "we've seen the true colours of the SNP" sorta stuff and believe that due to the fact the Tories voted with the SNP on stage 1 of the budget that Labour will be returned to Government after the next Holyrood elections....wishful thinking indeed.

I think out of the three opposition parties the one that has come out best from the budget process, despite was A.S.W.A.S thinks, (but that's due to him being a fundamental Nat and as such has a deep rooted hatred for all things Conservative) is the Scottish Conservative Party - just ask Douglas Fraser at the Herald.

Whilst the Lib Dems have come out looking quite ridiculous, or, in Douglas Fraser's words "baffling" due to the fact they tabled NO amendments to the budget at Finance Committee stage - as I talked about here, Labour have come out looking just as bad, if not worse, having tabled a series of amendments at the Committee stage but doing nothing to garner the support of any other Party with even the Lib Dems not voting with Labour - an unusual occurrence at the Scottish Parliament.

ASWAS suggests that the Tories haven't gotten as much out of the process as they could have but we have pushed two of our main areas - an increase in police numbers and the speeding up of business rate cuts for smaller businesses - and those two areas, plus the drug rehab stuff and the rural schools stuff will make the Party look quite good. We were never going to be able to get every single part of our manifesto through, we know that, so we have pushed our priorities that we could realisitcally get Nat support for.

Turning to Labour, I don't for a moment believe that the Nats voting with the Tories will result in a return to Government for them. People have began to notice the petty approach taken to opposition that the Labour party have made since May - a few of them need told that they are no longer in Office and it smacks of the arragant "we're the party of Government and deserve to be there" attitude of the party that has been one of their main problems since May.

A Fib Dem comment in the Edinburgh Evening News

As I flicked through today’s edition of the Edinburgh Evening News I began reading this story and stumbled across this beauty of a quote from a Fib Dem source:

"The Tories have been totally irrelevant for the last eight years. Now someone occasionally thinks they might have a use after all and for them that's progress."

That’ll be unlike the Lib Dems who had ill-deserved power for 8 years but are now relegated to be the completely irrelevant party in Scottish Politics as well as, of course, now being the fourth party in Scottish Politics.

So, Lib Dem source, with the Tories are irrelevant, what does that make the Lib Dems?

More Peter Hain

A few weeks ago I posted on Peter Hain and it seems that he’s now resigned to "clear his name" this can’t be good news for Ms Alexander although when I spoke to someone within Labour about Hain’s resignation the response I got was “good riddance.” Oh dear.

Anyway, I found this on youtube:

Also seems other parties are queing up to put the boot into her despite her claims that there won't be a domino effect.

People in glass houses

We all know the famous proverb, people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones and you may wonder where it is exactly I’m going with this. It’s not a very delayed response to Kezia Dugdale’s post at the tail end of last year but is in fact aimed at Nicol Stephen, the Liberal Democrat leader, who in tomorrow’s press will see all his accusations of sleaze come back and bite him on the arse.

“Why?” I hear you ask. No, it has nothing to do with donations from Ian Suttie nor does it have to do with the £2.4m donation from Michael Brown, it’s all to do with the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route and a Lib Dem donor. We all remember the kerfuffle over the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route extension. Basically, there were four possible suggestions for where the extension should be. The first was dismissed due to it’s closeness to a special school and said school was ramping up its protest at the move. Surely under such a circumstance the second option would be used. Well, you’d think so but in fact the then Executive Transport Minister Tavish Scott rejected that and, well, that’s why the shit is going to hit the fan. The problem with the second route? Aside from it’s proximity to a major Lib Dem donor…nothing.

Worth a read

Douglas Fraser is pretty spot on in his blog, it can be viewed here, in it he talks about the finance committee stuff from yesterday. A topic I covered yesterday.

Two paragraphs stick out for me.

The Lib Dem position seems most baffling. They wanted lots more spent on universities, but did not table an amendment to that effect. Perhaps they guessed it would fail and the rules required them to identify the areas in the education budget from which equivalent cuts should come. Labour has shown them the problem with doing that (as explained in the next paragraph). The Lib Dem finance committee member, Liam MacArthur, was more notable for his abstentions in the crucial amendment votes. That suggests the party will also abstain on the Parliament's budget vote. John Swinney would be happy enough with that. Abstentions reduce the number of votes he needs in favour.

In contrast with the Conservatives, Labour is showing how not to make an impact as the opposition. They put forward amendments, but failed to put in the groundwork that would draw in support from other parties. All the amendments were thus doomed to failure. The party argues that it has fought for the vulnerable and for spending on skills and vocational schooling. But it meant Labour also had to show where the cuts would come. The SNP is delighted to find its rivals suggesting the budget lines on anti-terrorism measures and on road maintenance would be cut. That doesn't put Labour in a good place politically. A Nationalist backbencher suggested Labour's proposals could cost lives.

Finance committee stuff

Whilst the Lib Dems blew a lot of hot air over the SNPs budget attacking it for being opaque and also for being filled full of broken promises, the Lib Dems put forward absolutely no amendments to the budget at the Finance Committee.

While the Scottish Conservatives put forward an amendment calling for business rates for small businesses to be cut – something the Scottish Lib Dem website suggests they support – their member on the finance committee, Liam McArthur, alongside the Labour members, abstained from this vote which left it tied at 4 (3 SNP & 1 Tory) vs. 4 (3 Labour & 1 Lib Dem) and took the convener of the committee’s casting vote to decide.

ScottishToryBoy wonders how the Fib Dems continue to get elected despite the fact they make it plainly clear that they stand for absolutely nothing.

On a side note, this link takes you to a part of the Scottish Lib Dem website titled ‘Dynamic Scotland’ which features a picture of Lib Dem leader Nicol Stephen, that’s surely the definition of irony, right?

Another blow for Wendy

It's not the first time I've used that headline nor will it be the last, seems there is more trouble for Ms Alexander in her constituency Labour group.

Not only does she have a local Councillor - who also doubled up as her electoral agent - that describes women as thick but now it appears Councillor Tommy Williams, who was formerly the chair of Wendy's constituency Labour group has been filling in his time sheet for times he wasn't even at work and has been suspended.

It goes from bad to worse for Ms Alexander.

Drinkies

Last week I posted about a bloggers drinking session but alas due to SNP tactical voter being unable to make it and as it was originally going to be just be a few beers with him, I felt we should reschedule. Maybe even til February, that's when everyone has dosh!

Who cares most for vulnerable groups?

Anyone remember Wendy Alexander? She's the Labour who required money to run an election campaign for leader that didn't exist and forgot to mention a donation from a tax exile. Still not ringing any bells? Well, she spoke about a hungry caterpillar once. Still nothing? Hardly surprising, she's been in hiding for what seems like ages. I'm surprised more people haven't used the prefix "AWOL" or "MIA" before speaking about her recently.

Anyway, it appears Wendy has finally admitted that Labour lost in May and has announced a positive agenda for the party as they focus on the issues troubling the people of Scotland whilst at the same time looking like a credible opposition...

I am of course joking. Wendy was on the Scottish Politics show this morning where she claimed that there should be a "big reduction in ring-fencing", but added that central government had to show its commitment to tackling issues such as domestic abuse.

"I have no doubt that Labour councillors, indeed Labour councils, have spent their life looking after the homeless, women's aid, all of these poor, weak, vulnerable groups that we came into politics for," she said.

"But I frankly can't have the same confidence that a Conservative-controlled council, or perhaps even an SNP-controlled council or an independent council will, for example, meet our obligation to women suffering domestic violence."

So let me get this straight. It's only the Labour party that care about vulnerable groups?

OK then, shall we focus on free personal care. This is lifted from the Scottish Government Website:

"Personal and nursing care is available without charge for everyone in Scotland aged 65 and over who needs it, whether at home, in hospital or in a care home.

Free nursing care is available for people of any age.

The Executive has provided £712 million for this policy since it was introduced in July 2002."

As we can see from the date of July 2002 - free personal care was introduced under the Labour Lib Dem Scottish Executive. I'm sure we remember them. Yes yes, the Lib Dems are the ones that say different things in different constituencies and are led by that Nicol Stephenson bloke although sometimes I wonder...

Anyway, prior to May's elections there were two Tory MSPs fighting very hard for those that had been wrongly charged for their free personal care. Those two MSPs were David McLetchie and former Tory MSP, the now Presiding Officer, Alex Fergusson. Any can anyone tell me who controlled the respective councils of these two MSPs?

Yup, you've guessed it, that party that cares about vulnerable groups apparently, the Labour Party. Perhaps this may explain the lack of trust Wendy and her colleagues have for local government...

Alberto Costa selected in Angus

I have just learnt from a good source that Alberto Costa has been selected as the Scottish Conservative candidate in Angus.

The seat is currently held by SNP MP Michael Weir. Weir has been the MP for the area since 2001 after the former MP for the area, Andrew Welsh, stepped down having been elected to the Scottish Parliament in the 1999 elections as MSP for Angus. While at Holyrood level the SNP have an 8000 majority over the Conservatives, at Westminster level the lead is just 1500 so it's not inconceivable that on a good night for the Conservative Party that this seat could fall.

A lack of consistency?

Many will have seen the opinion poll carried out by Scottish Opinion which has the Nats trailing Labour. A poll, however, that prompted Professor Curtice to say: "I would exercise extreme caution before I would take this as any evidence that the Labour Party has staged any kind of significant recovery in Scotland."

That is not the point of this post though, as the heading suggests, the point of the post is to at the reaction polls receive from Nats. When polls come out showing a Nat lead it's a sign that the tide is change etc etc but when a poll comes out showing Labour in the lead then you see ridiculous posts as posted on the Scotsman comments section labeling the poll a West Coast thing and suggesting the poll can't be right.

Now, before the Nat bloggers jump down my throat, I'm not suggesting the opinion poll is correct, frankly it looks nonsense and I agree with Professor Curtice's take on it although it appears Kezia Dugdale does not, all I'm saying is that you have to be consistent. Accept all polls or reject all polls.

Elections decoupled

Anyone with any sort of passing interest in Scottish Politics will remember the absolute farce that May's Holyrood Elections ended up being.

There were delays in announcing the result in the Western Isles, there was the bizarre case of a man taking a golf club to ballot boxes in Edinburgh, the fact around 7% of the total number of votes cast were rejected and for a time there was the potential of legal action from Labour over the loss of a number of seats, including Cunninghame North.

Many attribute the number of spoiled ballots to voter confusion brought on by the use of a number of different electoral systems in the one day with the Holyrood Elections and Local Government elections being held on the same day. Prior to the 2007 Elections the Scottish Conservatives tabled a private members bill calling for the decoupling of the elections and yesterday Annabel Goldie’s amendment to the main motion on the Gould Report saw to it that in the future the elections would happen on a different day after it was voted through 109 to 16 with only the Fib Dems opposing the decoupling of the elections.

The Lib Dems want to see the introduction of the single transferable vote, their spokesman, Iain Smith, said: "The answer is not to continuously tinker with a system that is basically flawed but to change it to a system that the voter has shown they can understand."

Quite a baffling decision really. The confusion in May wasn’t caused by confusion as such over the voting system but due to the fact that with the Local Government elections on the same day, a number of different voting systems were used. I saw on a few Holyrood Ballot papers voters listing the candidates 1,2,3 etc when in fact it was a cross required. That was not caused by the voting system but by the use of too many systems on the one day. The decoupling of the elections will, I am sure, see less voter confusion the next time around and it is quite disappointing that the Lib Dems couldn’t support this.

Peter Hain

Back during the Wendygate stuff Scottish Labour's sole blogging voice Kezia Dugdale warned against those living in glass houses not to throw stones due to, and I quote:

"Over the christmas holidays both the Tories and the SNP have had embarrassing slip ups over their finances. Firstly, David Cameron's own constituency party accepted two illegal donations - his words "how could he not know" "...it beggars belief" returning to haunt him. Secondly, a £5000 cash donation to the SNP went unaccounted for 3 years.”

The BBC website will make reasonably unpleasant reading for Miss Dugdale this morning as it appears that Peter Hain failed to declaring a whopping £103k donated to his deputy leadership campaign. It seems to be a recurring theme in the Labour ranks doesn't it?

George Lyon selected as Lib Dem MEP candidate

ScottishToryBoy learns that George Lyon, the former Lib Dem MSP for Argyll and Bute, has been selected to replace Elspeth Attwooll as number one on the Lib Dem list for the next European Parliamentary election in 2009.

To be elected Mr Lyon will need around about 16-17% of the vote so he may not be as safe as he probably expects due to the Lib Dems only gaining 16.2% of the vote in the 2007 Holyrood Election.

George Lyon joined the Lib Dems in 1999, not long before being elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 as the constituency member for Argyll and Bute but lost his seat in May’s election to Jim Mather after his vote dropped an amazing 14.5% from what he got in 2003! I also hear that Euan Robson lost out to George Lyon in the race to top the list of failed MSPs, I mean to top the Lib Dem list for the European Parliament.

Dear bloggers

I've been in discussions with SNP tactical voter and Indygal about meeting up next week for some drinkies somewhere in the Burgh. Any fellow bloggers interested? Probably next Wednesday night.

MSPs to run future Holyrood elections?

I've just got round to reading today's papers, I really have used the sabbath as a day of rest today and have just got round to reading the Scotland on Sunday online and came across this story.

Makes a lot of sense that the SNP, the Tories and the Lib Dems want to allow the Scottish Parliament to run it's own elections but it's interesting to see that the Labour party still has contempt for Scotland by not wanting this to happen. Dougie Alexander made a massive balls up the last time and should never be allowed to be in charge of a Holyrood election again, mind you, the next Holyrood election isn't until 2011 so it's going to be a Tory Secretary of state for Scotland anyway.

Can politicians blog?

I ask this after reading an article in the Times over whether or not musicians can blog and it made me wonder if our elected politicians can.

We'll start with councillors. I have a number of Councillors blogs on my links list and read them all quite regularly, well, as regularly as I can. They are mostly quite different. Some, take Cameron Rose for example, uses his blog as a sort of newsblog of what is happening in his constituency whether it's flood work or awards for constituents. Another Tory Councillor who's blog I read regularly is Arbroath Councillor Jim Millar. His posts range from press releases to a sort of personal diary of what he's been up to. I must admit I do enjoy the musings over life on his blog as it's a bit more, I guess, human than most blogs.

Over in Nat land, one blog I recently discovered was that of SNP Councillor for Bailieston, David McDonald who rather unsurprisingly has spent much time focussing on the Wendygate stuff as well as of course discussing matters relating more to his job as a councillor. Kudos must also go to the URL of his blog which is a reference to not just a Clash song, but one of my favourite Clash songs. I was going to discuss Tartan Hero's blog here but I feel his blog is not a blog relating to his job as a councillor so have decided not to.

I'm sure someone will point out there is some, but for the life of me I cannot find any Lib Dem blogs let alone ones for elected politicians in Scotland so I move on to their friends over in the Labour party. The two I read most regularly from Labour are Ewan Aitken's and Andrew Burns both are rather good with both tending to focus on council issues primarily but in a great deal of depth.

Over in MSP land it seems very few MSPs actually blog. Previously the SSP MSPs blogged and I used to read Colin Fox's quite regularly but of course he blogs no more. The only Labour MSP that I could find with a blog is George Foulkes who uses his blog to list stories relating to the Lothians but someone may want to point out that Penicuik isn't actually in the Lothians Parliamentary region.

It seems to be the younger MSPs in Parliament who blog with Aileen Campbell, the youngest MSP, trying to different methods, including facebook and bebo as well as blogging, to resonate with younger voters. Her blog is rather interesting as well and gives an insight into what she does in parliament as well as in the area she represents. SNP MSP Christina McKelvie also has a blog but appears to have used hers more as a campaign blog. South of Scotland Tory MSP Derek Brownlee's blog is used as a communication tool with the electorate in the South of Scotland as well highlighting questions he has asked in the chamber as well as discussing issues relating to the area that he covers.

John Loughton

I'm not much of a fan of Big Brother at all, nor do I really watch all that much in the way of television and I didn't even know about this years big brother until Jeff at SNP tactical voter wrote this post.

My female flatmate has been telling me all about it this morning over breakfast, apparently this years works by getting normal people in the house but by having celebrities being big brother and setting the rules etc. One of the candidates is a Scot, in fact, he's a member of the Scottish Youth Parliament, well, I read that on his bebo page. It now seems that he has a fan club site on bebo, which can be viewed here.

It's an odd choice I guess to go in Big Brother, I mean, we know from Comrade Galloways time in the BB house that politics and showbiz hardly mixes, but I guess John Loughton is doing it most for a laugh I guess.

Good luck to the guy, I guess ScottishToryBoy, although not a viewer of Big Brother, hopes he wins but wonders, if he does, would he be the first ginger Big Bro winner?

It's snowing

What a lovely view from out of my window.....

I'm back!!

I've been blogging fairly lite since my post on the 31st outlining the 8 things I wanted to see in 2008. There are a few reasons for the recent lack of blogging with the primary one being the fact that I've usually been out or having beers with friends.

I've never blogged while merry/pissed, otherwise I'd maybe make predictions such as Helen Eadie to be the next Labour leader....